She walked down the streets, her lengthy pink hair swaying behind her gracefully. Earning the title of best kunoichi in Konoha, she definitely caught the attention of many. Her perfect figure, long legs, soft and luscious hair, and stunning emerald orbs…oh yeah…that was definitely an eye catcher.
Why would Tsunade-sensei summon me? And I thought I had the day off… She thought, stopping in front of her second home, the hokage tower. She was like the daughter of the blonde hokage, even if they were nothing alike. Tsunade took her under her wing the very same year that…Sasuke…left. Oh…how that brought back so many memories. But that was four years ago, and she was 16 now, and as strong as, maybe even stronger than Tsunade. She didn't need these distractions.
No! Stop it Sakura! Don't think about him! You are a jounin ANBU, and should not be bothered by these things. Oh lord, I'm gonna have to have a talk with Naruto for bringing him up the other day… She thought furiously, walking down the long, twisting hallways of the tower. She nodded her head in greeting to the people wandering the hallways, and they did the same. Young boys stopped to gape at her, and she paid no heed to them, continuing on her way.
She came to a stop in front of Tsunade's office. She could hear hushed voices coming from within, and her curiosity grew. "Tsunade-sensei, what was it that you….." She said, slowly opening the door. She stopped dead in her tracks, letting the door swing open when she saw everyone who was in there.
Tsunade sat behind her desk, paperwork scattered all over, as usual. Her blonde hair hung in her brown eyes, and her hands were folded together on top of the desk. There was another person sitting in one of the two normally empty chairs in front of the desk, and two pairs of eyes ended up looking up at her when she entered, instead of the expected one.
Shocked emerald orbs met with emotionless, yet slightly surprised onyx ones. Sakura's eyes roamed over the slightly surprised silhouette of the young man sitting in front of her teacher. He definitely looked familiar, and she definitely knew him. His unusual spiked hair as dark as the midnight sky and those eyes that seemed to captivate you whenever you gazed deeply into them, and his masculine face and body. Oh yeah…she definitely knew that handsome face anywhere.
She couldn't find her voice within her; she could only gape at her former team mate. Sasuke…he's really back now. Oh, my gosh…I never thought I would see him again. The bastard actually came back. She thought, not really interested in the fact that he was back, but did not realize that she was in denial.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was completely baffled! But, not in the way that you suspect… "This is your toughest and strongest ANBU?! Not to mention the only one to ever be accepted as an ANBU at only a chunnin rank? You've got to be kidding me!" He ranted, his eyes showing laughter.
Sakura glared at him, and opened her mouth to yell at him. Only, Tsunade beat her to it. "You insolent little brat! How dare you talk of her like that! Sakura was accepted in the ANBU organization when she was only a chunnin, and just recently became a jounin! She is the strongest kunoichi, and probably ninja over all, in Konoha! She has even surpassed me! Do not speak of her like she is lower than a dust particle…!" Sakura was astounded at Tsunade's action, and so was Sasuke. He glared once more at the pink haired girl in the door way, and Sakura's glare rivaled his own.
"Sakura…" Tsunade started. She gestured her hand to the empty seat that was next to the Uchiha prodigy, obviously urging her to sit. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, as if challenging her to actually sit next to him, something most people wouldn't dare to do. Sakura inwardly smirked, and walked over to the wall behind Tsunade's desk, and leaned casually against it. She made her point get across to them with the look on her face, stating that she wouldn't bring herself as low as to sit next to a traitor.
Tsunade shook her head, slightly smirking in amusement. Sakura really was something… although, Tsunade herself wouldn't sit by him if she had the choice, but really, that wasn't her decision at the moment. Sakura glared at Sasuke, and it was as if there was an invisible line of electricity running through there pupils.
"Now, Sakura Haruno, my most trusted ninja, and Sasuke Uchiha, betrayer of Konoha, and former team mate of Sakura…I have a request." She looked at them both, her not exactly warm gaze boring into the two young adults before her. Sakura glanced at her mentor with interest; she didn't usually call her by her full name unless it was a really important mission, or if she was angry at her, which wasn't that often…anymore.
"What?" Sasuke stated blankly, not showing any interest at all. Sakura glared once more at him, this time his gaze met hers, and he was in for a shock. In her eyes, he saw hatred, a hatred that burned for him, and only him. He gulped; he hadn't seen that gleam of hatred in so long. Not since he had killed Itachi.
"Do not speak to my teacher like that. Not unless you want to find yourself pinned against a tree, all your chakra points blocked, bleeding horribly, and pummeled to a point of near death. I have friends you know." She said darkly, threatening him with her words. Tsunade smirked, almost laughing. Yes, Sakura sure had friends all right. Those friends of hers had made a great improvement on her ANBU squad when she accepted their requests to be on Sakura's squad.
Sasuke actually chuckled at this. Her? Have friends? Impossible! Someone like her wouldn't have friends. Never. Sasuke thought that Sakura was still the annoying girl he remembered from their genin days. But oh, was he wrong. Tsunade and Sakura exchanged a small, secret smile that went unnoticed by the Uchiha.
Just then, the door to the hokage's office burst open, eight figures bursting through. Sakura smiled, and looked up to their shocked faces. "Hi Ino, Tenten, Hinata, Naruto, Chouji, Shika, Neji, and Kiba. How are you all today? Sasuke's back…" She said dimly, their expressions growing even more surprised.
"SASUKE-TEME!!!!!!!" Naruto shouted, his cerulean orbs shinning brightly. Sakura didn't know whether the gleam in his eyes was from tears or anger, she couldn't figure it out.
Tsunade smirked at her toughest ANBU squad, folding her hands under her chin in a Sasuke-like manner, but hiding a smile behind her folded fingers. She looked to Sasuke, a mischievous look in her eye. "Sasuke, I would like to introduce you to my strongest ANBU squad, made of the toughest and strongest ninja's in Konoha." She said; a hint of amusement in her smooth voice.
"Who are these people? I only recognize the dobe and pinky. Who are the others?" He said. Sakura glared and started turning red in anger, and her gloved hand formed a fist. But then she reasoned a bit.
Her gaze drifted over each person of her squad. First Ino, they had resolved their issues, becoming best friends once more. Ino had moved on from Sasuke, and taken a liking to Shikamaru, whom she nicknamed Shika. Ino had changed, but not as drastically as some of the others. Her hair had grown to her mid-back, and she usually wore it in a half-up half-down style, preventing her bangs from getting in her way. Her outfit was similar to the one she used to where in their early genin days, the purple ensemble. Except now, it was just a deep purple tank top that ended just below her chest. She wore no bandages around her middle, showing off her physique form. She had a short purple skirt with slits along the side to match the top and black knee-shorts underneath. Yeah, she changed quite a lot.
Next she looked at Ino's current infatuation, Shikamaru. She had given him the nickname Shika around their chunnin exams time, and he didn't like it at first, but then adjusted to it. He had changed as well, but once again not as drastically as to what could have changed about him. His hair was still in that silly pineapple ponytail style, the one that annoyed Ino so much. Only, it had grown longer, and was now an even bigger pineapple. His eyes were lazy, but immediately turned into a serious type when on a mission. He wore his jounin vest, which was optional to them, paired with casual brown slacks that were loose and easy to move in. He was the brain of her squad, helping Ino perfect her mind transfer technique.
"Yes. You know all of these people, but may not recognize quite a few of them. So I'll re-introduce you to all of your former comrades." Tsunade said, smiling. The jounin that filled the compacted space all exchanged interested glances, clearly amused and disturbed by the fact that Sasuke didn't even recognize them in the least.
Tsunade's gaze matched Sakura's current gaze on the brunette standing next to the Hyuuga heiress in the corner by the door. They both noted how Tenten and Hinata had changed; mentally and physically. Tenten had exchanged those childish panda buns for a single ponytail that reached her slender neck. Her outfit was generally the same in color, but the style was a bit different. She wore her same cropped cargos, but her pink Chinese style top had changed from sleeveless to sheer sleeves that belled at the end. Tenten was the weapons mistress of the squad and in all of Konoha.
Hinata was one of the four girls that changed the most. Her purple-ish hair had grown down to the top of her bra line, the two pieces still hanging in front of her ears. Her outfit had changed as well, going from the heavy jacket and blue capris, to a fitted green t-shit with fishnet sleeves, and a pair of cargo pants cropped in the same style as Tenten, but only hers were black instead of the green colored ones Tenten wore. Hinata was usually not recognizable unless you saw her eyes. She was on the same page as Sakura with her precise chakra control.
"We have Hinata Hyuuga, with byakugan ability and chakra control as good as Sakura's. Next, the weapons mistress of the squad, and not to mention all of Konoha, Tenten." The hokage stated, gesturing with her hand to each person mentioned. Hinata nodded her head slightly in greeting, while Tenten gave a small smile and a slight nod.
"Next up," it was Sakura speaking now, all eyes turned to her, except for the Hokage's and the Uchiha's of course. "Is Shikamaru Nara, the sharpest mind, and genius of the squad, and Ino Yamanaka, who has her mind transfer abilities, and pretty good chakra control as well." She said smiling a little at her two friends. They both nodded in greeting to their former comrade.
Next Tsunade looked at the others of her squad, Kiba, Chouji, Neji, and Naruto. She smiled at the now young men, and possible future Hokage. Some of them had had great changes in their abilities, other minor. Some you couldn't even recognize, others look generally the same.
Tsunade spoke now, her eyes glittering with pride all the while. She really did have the strongest Shinobi in all of Konoha gathered in this confined space. "There is Neji Hyuuga, cousin of Hinata Hyuuga, and with the same, only stronger byakugan abilities. Neji also has the strongest 'Rotation' in the entire Hyuuga clan. Now Kiba Inuzuka, his abilities have grown immensely, making him a great addition to the squad." Sakura's eyes looked over the two mentioned, seeing how they had changed to. Both of them had not had major changes, except maybe in their abilities. Neji had only changed his attire to the traditional Hyuuga training attire, while his hair had grown, but was still tied with a white ribbon at the end.
Kiba had changed greatly with his power, and quite a bit with his clothing. He wore the standard Jounin vest, that was as mentioned before, optional; and the blue shirt and pants to match. He still had his strong nose, and his dog-like grin. The markings on his face were later found out, by Naruto, to be permanent and not just make-up as was thought. That was quite an experience for the young Inuzuka.
Now Sakura spoke once more, her voice smooth, and not nervous in the presence of her former team-mates. "Then of course, Chouji, who has his clan ability that has grown stronger." Chouji generally looked the same, only just more mature. "And our former team mate, Naruto Uzumaki, still the number one knuckle head ninja in all of Konoha, but one of the strongest." Naruto gave a giant foxy grin that made both Hinata and Sakura smile widely.
Naruto now wore something much more suitable other than his previous (not to mention hideous) orange jumpsuit, although he still stuck with orange. His strong, masculine body was adorned with a black t-shirt, the necklace that the fifth had entrusted him with, a black and orange jacket, and baggy orange pants.
"And last, but most certainly not least," Tsunade said, looking to her student, and strongest ninja in Konoha. "The squad leader, Sakura Haruno; strongest ninja in Konoha. She has precise chakra control, and is the best medic-nin in the history of the hidden leaf village, surpassing even my own abilities. She is my student, and has grown greatly." She said.
Sakura smirked, and looked up at Sasuke to see his reaction. Oh, was that a sight. It was probably the only time you would ever see the Uchiha so surprised in his life. His eyes were wider than plates, and his mouth agape. He stared at his former team mate in awe. Strongest ninja in Konoha? He wouldn't believe it until he could see it. So, he stated just that.
Everyone looked in shock at him, and then to Sakura. They were surprised not to see her angry, and relieved at the same time. Sakura could be scary when she was angry…Naruto had some not so pleasant experiences with her anger. But, Sakura only smirked at this, she knew all to well what was going through the Uchiha's mind at the moment. He still thought of her as the weak little annoying girl from their genin days. Oh…was he in for a shocker.
Sakura looked him straight in the eye, and said, "You want to see my strength? Spar with me sometime. Then you'll see. I have defeated everyone here, even the Hokage herself. The only people coming close to defeating me are Naruto, and Tsunade-sensei, but that was only a near defeat. They are strong, I will admit. Every one of them is strong, why else would I have them on my squad?" She asked him.
All the people crowded together in the room all stared in shock at the cherry blossom girl. They all knew what could happen is he sparred with her. But then again, no one had seen his strength since his return, not even Tsunade.
Sasuke smirked that sexy smirk of his that made girls melt at his feet. Well, except for the girls in the room, they all had their own crushes. All but Sakura, that is. "I will spar with you then. I want to see your improvement. I want to see if you are stronger than I, I want to know if I have a new rival." He said, his voice never wavering.
Sakura actually smiled at this one. "Very well, we will spar once you agree to join my squad. I know very well that is what Tsunade-sensei requests from me. She cannot decide who joins my squad, only I can. I am the leader." Everyone looked at Tsunade. She sighed, then smiled as she unfolded her fingers that she had done so on her cluttered desk.
"Yes, I have no authority over that subject, but I do request him for your squad, Sakura. He would make a great addition to your squad. Will you let him join?" Tsunade asked her student. Sakura looked at all of her comrades, their interested looks. They too thought he would probably make a great addition, but could have no say in her decision.
Sakura smirked as she looked back at the onyx eyed boy, no nervousness showing in her emerald orbs. She spoke, her voice having a hint of finality, saying he couldn't back out of this one. "Yes, you will join my squad. We will all pair off for training. You will spar with me tomorrow, no questions asked. Everyone else, you may choose your sparring partner. Meet me at the training grounds at five am sharp, do not be late." She said.
Tsunade smiled at her student, along with the others. Only, some of them only smirked. She then handed Sasuke his ANBU uniform, the one they were all to wear from now on. He smirked as he took it into his hands, setting it onto his lap. He looked up to Sakura, already challenging her with his eyes. The only thing in her eyes though, was the urge to fight, to kill.
Fin.
Author's note:
I had fun writing this. This is my first fan fiction, and I would like to say that flames are welcome just as much as praises are. I like criticism; it makes me a better writer. But please do review!
-cat